TORMENTED_ Jani Kay - Jani Kay Page 0,38

of yours over for a drink and maybe dinner? We can get to know one another better. I promise to suspend my judgment until I know more about him.”

Even though he couldn’t see me, I nodded. “Okay.” Even though I wasn’t hundred percent sure it was a good idea, we had to start somewhere and I preferred sooner rather than later. I hoped that my father would give Harrison a fair chance and maybe even get to like him. “What day did you have in mind?”

He cleared his throat. “How about tomorrow night? I don’t have any plans.”

I opened my diary and flipped the page. I had drinks planned with Emma from work, but she wouldn’t mind if we did it another time. “Oh, I can be free too. I’ll just have to find out if Harrison is available.”

“Eva?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you, sweetheart.” A soft sigh sounded down the line. “I’ll always be your dad. I only want what’s best for you. That’s all.”

I swallowed hard, biting back the tears burning my throat.

“I know, Daddy.”

“I’ll keep an open mind, I promise. But if he hurts my baby girl, I’m going to break his dick.”

I could hear the smile in his voice. Bill would gladly deliver on his promise. Why were men so damn testosterone-driven?

Chapter 22 — Harrison

Sweat trickled down my spine as I pressed the remote’s large red button to lock my car.

Beep beep.

Eva’s car wasn’t parked in the driveway as I’d hoped, but maybe she’d arrived earlier and had access to the six-car garage, and hers was inside and out of the Californian sun.

I rang the bell then combed my fingers through my hair and pulled my shirt straight while I waited for someone to open the door. Squinting in spite of wearing sunglasses, I took a minute to inspect my surroundings.

Bill Ryder’s impressive Malibu mansion was nothing less than I’d expected—immaculate sprawling gardens and an ocean view to die for, both befitting a music mogul. I shrugged. People who made it big in the industry showing off their wealth through conspicuous consumption was just another way of life in Los Angeles.

Sucking in a deep, calming breath, I turned when I felt a current of air swoosh past me as the heavy wooden door swung open.

It wasn’t Eva, who I’d hoped would meet me at the door. Instead, I stared into the guarded and somewhat weathered face of her father. I could see traces of her in him, but mostly I saw Ryder. The thick, straight eyebrows, sharp elegant nose, and generous fleshy lips that were curled up into a courteous smile that didn’t reach his penetrating eyes were so much like Ryder’s that I had to stop myself from staring.

“Ahhh, Harrison, glad you could make it tonight.” He indicated for me to come inside.

No handshake? The man wasn’t going to make it easy for me by a long shot.

I gave him a half smile as I stepped into the cavernous entrance. “Thanks for inviting me over, Mr. Ryder.”

“Call me Bill. My kids do, so you may as well.”

“Sure,” I said evenly, not letting his cool demeanor disturb me. In my line of work, I came across people from all walks of life—from the scum-of-the-earth types to those who thought they were better than anyone else, and everything in between.

I’d learned not to judge a book by its cover, no matter how polished or tattered it appeared from the outside. Looks were deceiving, and anyone could put up a front. For millennia, people had pretended to be what they weren’t.

It was reading people—their body language and micro-expressions—that was my special talent, and had made me a leader in my field and such a sought-after operative. And it sure as fuck came in handy when trying to impress the father of the woman I was sleeping with. Not that the older Ryder was going to be a pushover. Far from it. He didn’t get to be as successful and wealthy as he was without having the balls that go with making it big in a cutthroat industry. Yeah, I’d done my research on the man. Lucky for me, I had all the resources I needed at my disposal.

“Let’s go get a drink while we wait for Eva.”

My stomach dropped to my Italian leather shoes.

“Eva’s not here yet?”

Bill had to hear the disappointment in my voice. “No. In fact, I asked her to come an hour later. Gives us time to have a man-to-man talk and get to know one another a